Episode info

In this episode of Voices & Visions, Ivana Heijnen speaks with Melalite Ayenew, an early-stage technology investor and venture builder based in Nairobi, bringing a cross-market lens across Africa, Europe, and the US shaped by her background in strategy consulting, technology, and venture building.

The conversation explores what it actually takes to build and fund a company at the earliest stages in East Africa.

The episode covers:
Building a venture studio from a restaurant garden during Covid
Ethiopia and Kenya’s growth models as both opposite and complementary
The sectors driving early-stage investment: fintech, climate tech, and AI infrastructure
Why seed funding is concentrating in fewer, more capital-efficient startups
“Africa’s best” really requirements when it comes to cross-border expansion
Pitching to investors doesn’t guarantee the ability to execute locally
Why local capital is still sitting on the sidelines of the VC ecosystem
What makes Kenya uniquely attractive to international talent

Produced by Tutto Passa Agency, in partnership with TechCabal.

Melalite Ayenew

Melalite Ayenew is an early-stage technology investor and venture builder based in Nairobi, where she has spent years working with founders from day zero, identifying talent, shaping ideas, and backing teams before product-market fit exists.

Before moving into venture building, Melalite held senior roles across strategy consulting and technology, as a Management Consultant at Bain & Company, a Director at Oracle, and earlier as a consultant in New York, giving her a cross-market lens spanning Africa, Europe, and the US.

She brings a rare combination of operator discipline, investor pattern recognition, and early-stage founder development.

Melalite Ayenew (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/melalite/?skipRedirect=true